School baseball team training to keep momentum after undefeated season 

When Shelter Island School Baseball Coach Peter Miedema told the Reporter last spring that “in order to go undefeated, you have to win the first game,” it felt like a simple reminder about taking the season one game at a time. Good strategy — 13 games later, the Islanders finished without a loss.

Strong pitching and consistent at-bats sealed the deal for the Islanders last spring, but this year, the team will face new challenges. For starters, two weeks into practices, the team had yet to take the field.

A combination of damage from the recent blizzard and consistent rain has left the ground muddy and unplayable, and the team practiced inside. While the indoor practices in the school’s gym allow the players to have a catch, practice pitching, and do batting practice in the batting cage setup, it lacks many aspects, such as baserunning, live infield-outfield training, and of course, enjoying the warm spring weather.

The Reporter sat down with Coach Miedema recently to discuss the upcoming season. Reflecting on last season’s run, the coach said, “One thing we did enjoy was some pretty decent pitching last year, which kind of limited exposure on the defensive side.”

The team will consist of 12 players this season, primarily returning athletes. Sophomore Ryan Sanwald, juniors Cayman Morehead, Abie Roid, Kaden Gibbs, Ari Waife, Henry Springer, Jackson Rohrer, and Evan Weslek, and seniors Byron Rodas Vasquez, Sebi Martinez, Leo Napoles, Daniel Hernandez, and Harry Clark will all be back. Freshman William Marshall and sophomore Thomas Beckwith will begin their Shelter Island baseball careers this spring.

Coach Miedema also noted that spring sports often bring together players from multiple grades and experience levels. “With spring sports, this time of year is kind of a decompress after basketball season,” he said. “A lot of guys just want to be part of a team, be outside, and play sports.”

The team looks forward to returning outside and starting the season, with the first game slated for Tuesday, April 14. As said, a major part of last season’s success was the Islanders’ pitching roster, which faced off against much younger teams. This season, however, with Shelter Island graduating their best pitcher last season, they will need to find new arms to take the mound.

Among those returning pitchers are junior Evan Weslek and senior Harry Clark. Weslek has been pitching for the Islanders since his first mound appearance back when he was a 7th grader playing for Shelter Island’s varsity team, and has remained on the mound the past four years. Clark made his first appearance last May, filling in as an infielder and relieving Weslek in the late innings of a Southold/Greenport matchup. Clark continued to pitch throughout the season and will return this spring.

Coach Miedema expects Weslek to play a key role again this season. “Evan will probably be our number one pitcher,” he said.

Part of having a long preseason, even if inside, is having the time to find arms and train them. Juniors Henry Springer, Ari Waife, Kaden Gibbs, and sophomore Ryan Sanwald will all be spending time in the bullpen, although no positions are set just yet. As the team works through early practices, Coach Miedema said he will be evaluating players who can contribute on the mound. “The first couple weeks we’ll be looking for anyone who can provide us innings and consistently throw strikes,” he said.

While the team will be sporting a new roster this season, they will also be facing off against new, more challenging opponents. The current schedule consists of Greenport, Southold, Pierson, and Hampton Bays. Among the new additions are the Greenport Porters, who separated from what was a combined Greenport/Southold JV team to field a schoolwide JV team instead, moving their varsity players down to the JV level.

Also new this year are the Pierson Whalers, who didn’t have enough players to field a JV team last season. In the previous 2024 season, the Whalers were the most difficult team on the Islanders’ schedule. 

While new teams will enter the Islanders’ schedule, a familiar face will be leaving the dugout. Assistant coach Mike Dunning, who coached alongside Coach Miedema for 12 years, will be taking the season off. Coach Miedema said the team will feel the loss in the dugout this season. “I’m definitely going to miss Mike this year,” he said. “It’s always nice bouncing ideas off someone or just having a laugh here and there.”

The Islanders will open their schedule against Greenport on April 14, a matchup the coach says carries a bit of a rivalry. “They’ve always wanted to beat us, and we’ve kind of gotten the better of them,” he said. “So it’s a fun rivalry, but they’re definitely going to be gunning for us.”

As always, Coach Miedema emphasized the importance of starting strong. “The first game is always the most important one,” Miedema said with a smile. 

Be sure to come out to Fiske Field this spring to support the Islanders.